Microsoft Game Pass revamp renames tiers, raises prices, adds day-one

Microsoft this month combined a major reshaping of its Xbox Game Pass subscription with a large slate of new and day one game arrivals, as the company implements renamed tiers and notable price increases that have drawn criticism from many subscribers. The changes, announced in early October, include a rebranding of plans to Essential (formerly Core), Premium (formerly Standard) and Ultimate, and an increase in some prices of up to about 50 percent for the Ultimate tier. Microsoft also laid out the first wave of October additions and several November day one releases.

Among the headline October arrivals are Ninja Gaiden 4, arriving day one on October 21 for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and Keeper, a new title from Double Fine, which debuts on October 17. Other day one entries include Ball x Pit on October 15 and a string of releases across mid and late October such as Evil West on October 21 and The Outer Worlds 2 on October 29. The enhanced editions of Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II became available on PC Game Pass on October 9 after earlier console and cloud availability. Several smaller and genre-diverse titles appear across tiers and platforms in the first wave,...